Thank you, Sophie Morris, for reminding us of Treasurer Scott Morrison’s recent remark to Annabel Crabb that his pre-election brutality towards refugees was to make both them and people smugglers understand that, if the Coalition were elected, “their worst nightmare had arrived” (“The Coalition’s new power pact”, October 31-November 6). We need to pinch ourselves very hard to remember that he was talking primarily about innocent people he intended to torment as a political expedient on his way to his present office, where he presumably can continue to exercise his moral creed.

– John Hayward, Weegena, Tas

Duo comparison stretches credulity

It was bemusing to read the comparison of Turnbull and Morrison to Hawke and Keating (“The Coalition’s new power pact”). There is absolutely no comparison. Hawke and Keating were true visionaries whose policies laid the path for an economic and social future of grand proportions for all Australians. Theirs was a partnership of great political acumen, social justice and social equity. Turnbull and Morrison are at best lacklustre careerists whose right-wing conservative political positioning over the past five years has been a conglomeration of lies and inhumane policies based upon ideologies of racism, fear-mongering and bigotry, whose concepts of social equity lie in the favours bestowed upon big business and the richest 20 per cent and who have no concept of real social justice. Australia’s growth was thwarted by their negativity while in opposition and thrown into the Dark Ages of fear, hate and bullying tactics while in government. And not one single policy beneficial to Australia in five years. I am aghast at the idea that they are redolent of Hawke and Keating.

– Ian Ossher, Dover Heights, NSW

The zoo connection

Of course one would prefer animals to be in their natural habitat and it must be admitted that few species after being humanised can return “to the wild” if and where this still exists (Maddison Connaughton, “Animal pragmatism”, October 31-November 6). But the zoos provide an animal experience where hopefully the visitors appreciate similarities between both species on either side of the fence. This may assist in teaching them that animals are not kept for those seeking financial gain or for the amusement of armed trophy hunters. The “reinforced steel cages” referred to at Melbourne Zoo are used as night quarters and to train the gorillas to obey commands so that the use of anaesthetics may be minimised for health checks and procedures. For those who are disturbed by animals in captivity, the Werribee Open Range Zoo may be preferred. There the humans are enclosed and the animals run free!

– Beverley McIntyre, Camberwell, Vic

Blurring the lines

An open society does not rely on a single source to garner information, but rather on a plethora of sources. Martin McKenzie-Murray’s article (“Nauru’s borders open up to allies”, October 31-November 6) clearly highlights the danger in doing so, since the weakness of Chris Kenny’s reporting style stems from the fact that it is not objective and investigative but rather subjective and directed. Objective and investigative journalism tests every hypothesis with facts, whereas subjective and directive journalism chooses facts that essentially suit a hypothesis. The latter blurs opinion with factual reporting. Practitioners of this type of reporting always couch facts into left and right political divides. So long as a plethora of sources are blocked, we shall never be comfortable with Kenny’s – let alone with anyone else’s view – of what is happening on Nauru or Manus Island.

– Dr Ellak I. von Nagy-Felsobuki, Arcadia Vale, NSW

Inspiration for others

Well done, Therase Lawless (not her real name), for sharing your experiences of dealing with a predator who held, and still does, a position of trust and the system that shields him (“The unpunished teacher”, October 31-November 6). Hopefully your piece will build therapeutic confidence in others who have had similar experiences and encourage them to come forward. You are a brave person.

– Michael Minns, Katoomba, NSW

Refugee crisis not an easy fix

Paul Bongiorno may not like Tony Abbott, and let’s face it he is a hard person to love, but your columnist should not let his emotions interfere with reasoning (“The Abbott loosens his collar”, October 31-November 6). The terrible truth is that the onslaught of refugees into Europe is causing problems, one being the rise of right-wing extremist parties. Both Abbott’s and Angela Merkel’s policies are only attempts to address the symptoms of this humanitarian disaster and don’t address the cause. Both are about as useful as issuing aspirin as a treatment for a malaria outbreak – it might make you feel better but probably makes the situation worse. Military intervention in Iraq was a disaster but the failure of Western governments to intervene in Syria, perhaps only with enforced no-fly zones, could have prevented the current mess three years ago.

– Don Owers, Dudley, NSW

Bill of rights explained

I’d never understood why we might need a bill of rights in this country until I read the article by Lucia Osborne-Crowley (“Reining in the rogues”, October 24-30). I almost didn’t read it because that kind of subject matter is normally dry as dust to me. But it was written with great clarity, using examples from recent political events to explain the arguments, and I found it enjoyable as well as rewarding to read.

– Tom Downs, Kenmore, Qld

Letters are welcome: [email protected]
Please include your full name and address and a daytime telephone number.
Letters may be edited for length and content, and may be published in print and online. Letters should not exceed 150 words.

This article was first published in the print edition of The Saturday Paper on
Nov 7, 2015.
Subscribe here.

Mike Seccombe
As public faith in democracy collapses, the institution is further undermined by suspect polling, gormless politics and a media dependent on both.When the numbers don’t mean much, meaning must be attached to them. As the example of the recent Liberal coup shows, that can lead to disaster.

Mark Davis
The Indonesian military has employed airstrikes in West Papua – suspected to include the banned chemical weapon white phosphorus – as a retaliation for murders following a flag-raising protest.

Abdul Karim Hekmat
Four out of five asylum seekers in Australia will be left destitute and homeless next year after further planned cuts to support services. Sadoullah Malakooti, appealing the rejection of his refugee application, is among them.

Leah Jing McIntosh
Robin DiAngelo knows a lot about white privilege – it’s in her DNA. The American academic, author and anti-racism advocate talks about how structures of whiteness and so-called white progressives are continuing to damage the lives of people of colour. ‘I grew up in poverty … I was a feminist for most of my life before I realised I could also be an oppressor. But I draw from my experience of oppression … I think that helps. The key is not to exempt myself from being an oppressor, just because I experience oppression. Ask anyone if they’d rather be poor and white or poor and brown – I knew I was poor, but I also knew I was white.’

Wesley Enoch
Change the date, don’t change the date – I am agnostic. I think a national day could be a valuable tool in the binding of a nation, but only if it finds ways of including the three narratives, as Pearson has described them. I can imagine a three-stage national day of the future, one that stretches from our long First Nations history, through the narrative of the British arrival, to the waves of immigrant arrivals and life here now. Past, present and future.

Paul Bongiorno
The Prime Minister’s Office insists Morrison only learnt about Broad’s use of a website for ‘sugar daddy’ arrangements on the day New Idea broke the story. It is simply an incredible and grave dereliction of duty on McCormack’s part. He lamely claims he doesn’t ‘tell the prime minister everything about every member of parliament’ because he ‘has enough on his mind’.

Richard Ackland
It’s the annual speech day at St Brutes, the very private non-selective school and training ground for future Nasty Party boiler room operatives and their underlings in Cockies Corner at the other end of the dorm. The headmaster, Mr Morrison, was hoping for a speech day built around the theme of “fair dinkum” – to reflect the authenticity of Australia and its values. A cat was set among the pigeons, though, when it came to light that “fair dinkum” was actually an authentic Chinese expression from the goldfields of the 1890s.

Always, there was some spectre, some looming threat – a capricious American president, the North Korean nuclear arsenal, Russia’s cyber sabotage, the possibility of Brexit’s economic devastation, the inevitability of climate disaster. We lived, in 2018, at the edge of chaos. Faced with chaos, it is human to attempt to find order. The impulse is one that tends from sense towards containment, control. It is no coincidence this year of ataxia spurred authoritarianism.

Martin McKenzie-Murray
In a year bookended by National Party MPs in disgrace, we saw big banks and cricketers shamed, international politics teeter and literary and musical icons shuffle off this mortal coil. A look back at the year that was.

Helen Razer
The Golden Age of television is giving way to a period more gilded, but streaming giant Netflix has still bankrolled some worthy viewing this year, in the form of Dumplin’ and American Vandal.

Miriam Cosic
Bursting with colour, overwrought with emotion and rich in symbolism – the grandiloquent works of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood leave the Tate to enliven the walls of the NGA in an exhibition powerful enough to convert even a non-fan.

Martin McKenzie-Murray
For cricket fans disillusioned and despondent over Australia’s ignominious fall from Test cricket grace, the current series against India promises the best Christmas gift of all.

Mike Seccombe
As public faith in democracy collapses, the institution is further undermined by suspect polling, gormless politics and a media dependent on both.When the numbers don’t mean much, meaning must be attached to them. As the example of the recent Liberal coup shows, that can lead to disaster.

Mark Davis
The Indonesian military has employed airstrikes in West Papua – suspected to include the banned chemical weapon white phosphorus – as a retaliation for murders following a flag-raising protest.

Abdul Karim Hekmat
Four out of five asylum seekers in Australia will be left destitute and homeless next year after further planned cuts to support services. Sadoullah Malakooti, appealing the rejection of his refugee application, is among them.

Leah Jing McIntosh
Robin DiAngelo knows a lot about white privilege – it’s in her DNA. The American academic, author and anti-racism advocate talks about how structures of whiteness and so-called white progressives are continuing to damage the lives of people of colour. ‘I grew up in poverty … I was a feminist for most of my life before I realised I could also be an oppressor. But I draw from my experience of oppression … I think that helps. The key is not to exempt myself from being an oppressor, just because I experience oppression. Ask anyone if they’d rather be poor and white or poor and brown – I knew I was poor, but I also knew I was white.’

Wesley Enoch
Change the date, don’t change the date – I am agnostic. I think a national day could be a valuable tool in the binding of a nation, but only if it finds ways of including the three narratives, as Pearson has described them. I can imagine a three-stage national day of the future, one that stretches from our long First Nations history, through the narrative of the British arrival, to the waves of immigrant arrivals and life here now. Past, present and future.

Paul Bongiorno
The Prime Minister’s Office insists Morrison only learnt about Broad’s use of a website for ‘sugar daddy’ arrangements on the day New Idea broke the story. It is simply an incredible and grave dereliction of duty on McCormack’s part. He lamely claims he doesn’t ‘tell the prime minister everything about every member of parliament’ because he ‘has enough on his mind’.

Richard Ackland
It’s the annual speech day at St Brutes, the very private non-selective school and training ground for future Nasty Party boiler room operatives and their underlings in Cockies Corner at the other end of the dorm. The headmaster, Mr Morrison, was hoping for a speech day built around the theme of “fair dinkum” – to reflect the authenticity of Australia and its values. A cat was set among the pigeons, though, when it came to light that “fair dinkum” was actually an authentic Chinese expression from the goldfields of the 1890s.

Always, there was some spectre, some looming threat – a capricious American president, the North Korean nuclear arsenal, Russia’s cyber sabotage, the possibility of Brexit’s economic devastation, the inevitability of climate disaster. We lived, in 2018, at the edge of chaos. Faced with chaos, it is human to attempt to find order. The impulse is one that tends from sense towards containment, control. It is no coincidence this year of ataxia spurred authoritarianism.

Martin McKenzie-Murray
In a year bookended by National Party MPs in disgrace, we saw big banks and cricketers shamed, international politics teeter and literary and musical icons shuffle off this mortal coil. A look back at the year that was.

Helen Razer
The Golden Age of television is giving way to a period more gilded, but streaming giant Netflix has still bankrolled some worthy viewing this year, in the form of Dumplin’ and American Vandal.

Miriam Cosic
Bursting with colour, overwrought with emotion and rich in symbolism – the grandiloquent works of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood leave the Tate to enliven the walls of the NGA in an exhibition powerful enough to convert even a non-fan.

Martin McKenzie-Murray
For cricket fans disillusioned and despondent over Australia’s ignominious fall from Test cricket grace, the current series against India promises the best Christmas gift of all.